Amateur Night: Gophers Sharing Their Talents and Themselves

Student Unions and Activities offers a space for students to express what matters most to them 

By Ian Knoll

My secret talent is I can burp on command. Needless to say, it doesn't get me far at parties. For some real talents, however, look no further than Amateur Night, a yearly event put on by Student Unions and Activities that gives Gophers a chance to share their unique talents and perspectives. 

Acts ranged from the expected (but still impressive) instrument and singing performances, to the surprising, like spoken word poetry and Adrian Velez’s beyond impressive yoyo routine. Throughout the night, the audience was encouraged to think carefully about the acts they’d seen and ultimately vote on a favorite, with the third, second, and first place winners all being announced at the end of the night. This year, the winner was a group of four roommates who had gotten together to form an indie pop-rock style band called Warwick (who, in my humble opinion, were more than worthy to get the vote). 

The night wasn’t without its serious moments though. Before his performance, Maje Adams (who did a highly entertaining metal cover of Redbone) asked the audience to hum with him in honor of the victims of the recent Santa Clarita school shooting because, as Maje put it best, we do not stay silent when these tragedies occur. In another excellent performance, student poet Simran Chugani used prose laden with riddles to express the confusion and uncertain history she feels comes with being an Asian American.

Ultimately, I think Amateur Night has a lot of room to grow. Though they were all excellent, the event only featured eleven groups, and though everyone there seemed to enjoy themselves, the Memorial Union’s Great Hall was far from full. As a student body and a world, sharing our talents, ourselves, and what makes us excited is vital to growing as a community. Everyone has a unique talent and perspective to share, and while Amateur night is a relatively safe place to share that, I highly encourage everyone to come next year and join the conversation. 

You can find Maje Adams at https://majeadams.bandcamp.com/ and Warwick on Instagram @warwicktheband.